Finding ‘the one’ (or really anyone) is a common goal for the modern-day gay man. We sift through an endless stream of apps, wading through murky waters of uncertainty.
But what do we do when those apps fail us on a moral level? As our generation gets thirstier by the second, we crave technology that keeps pace. The popular apps get the job done and then some, but they come with serious security issues. Privacy, and the right to it, is squarely in the crosshairs when dating apps sell your data to the highest bidder.
Some of the very companies we rely on to get laid are doing the absolute most to get paid. Who knows where your personal information ends up once it’s sold off? It raises legitimate ethical concerns and leaves users with an understandable sense of dread. Being treated as a data point rather than a person is dehumanizing. A new ally in the dating app world has entered the scene, promising a fully transparent user experience.
Meetmarket is a new website and Android app that rejects the predatory inner workings of those frequently used apps. Since its launch in March 2026, the team has made a standout commitment to never sell your data to prying third parties. Instead, Meetmarket offers a way to find fun for privacy-conscious gay guys who refuse to have their information sold any longer.
Meeting Meetmarket
You can peruse the website (or download the app on Android) to experience Meetmarket for yourself. Signing up is simple and takes less than a minute. Profiles can be made anonymously, even without an email address, so you can swipe through with ease. It’s up to the user if they’d like to share photos on your profile, or even add identifiers in your bio.
Other apps come with that ingrained sense of entitlement, where folks demand to know what ‘Tribe’ you are, how many abs you have, or how you fit into their perception of gayness. Meetmarket has none of those preconceived notions. It’s a fully new area to experiment. Most users upload one or two SFW pictures, and chats take off organically with people in your area. You can view the map feature to find nearby people to chat with, or filter by what you’re specifically searching for.
More Than A Data Point
Meetmarket exists because the dominant platform in this space is unusable without paying, is “majority-owned by investors disconnected from the community it serves,” and has a documented history of selling user data. Through its privacy-protected proximity system, Meetmarket delivers all the joys of a legacy app without the drawbacks, letting users make friends or find a partner on a morally conscious app.
Meetmarket’s commitment to uplifting the queer community, rather than monetizing its user base, makes the site one to root for. The site was made to be a public benefit tool serving its community sustainably, not to extract value from them.
Meetmarket pledges to take no money from outside advertisers. An ad-free experience is promised and delivered. So how does a site like this keep the lights on? The website cites “membership contributions, grants, cooperative ownership, or community funding.”
Meet Your Meetmarket Maker
The creator of the app is Don Jackoghue. He built a prototype of the website in two weeks after teaching himself to code, and is now on Instagram pitching Meetmarket as a “fix to everything wrong with Grindr.”
With a background in anthropology and speculative design, Jackogue has always centered his work on imagining better futures in tech. Through an internet persona he’s built over the past eight years, Jackogue has positioned himself as a trusted voice in both the queer and tech spaces. Meetmarket was born from years of creative thinking and mounting frustration with dating platforms that sell user data without a second thought.
Jackogue spoke about the goal of the app and what it means for the queer community.
“Grindr makes $300 million in profit and is majority-owned by two straight men with no connection to the community it serves,” shares Jackogue. “That’s the logic of a publicly traded company—extract value and grow shareholder returns. Meetmarket is an attempt to invert that. As we grow, I want to take the value that the community generates and reinvest it directly back into a community fund. The goal is for Meetmarket to actually help sustain the spaces and events that make our community what it is, especially as people are increasingly priced out.”
The user base is quietly growing, and logging in means you’ll see people nearby. Your privacy stays protected as you scroll through a feed of ab pictures and sultry selfies. Perhaps this crowd is looking forsomething more genuine, tired of the noise and the money pit that popular apps have become.
Will you be making a profile on Meetmarket? If so, you can rest easy knowing your texts, sexts, and personal information aren’t being sold off to mysterious entities.
